Changes
by P3wter Dr4gon
Summary: What would happen if Harry didn't get all depressed after Sirius died? Sometimes losing a loved one really puts your life in perspective. Harry decides to live his life to the fullest. Harry's spending too much money, Voldemort's plotting evil plots, and Dumbledore's a a little senile.
1. Chapter 1: Living for Life's Sake

_**Changes**_

_**Chapter 1: Living for Life's Sake**_

_Disclaimer:_ No I don't own anything. If I owned Harry Potter I would be rich. Believe me when I say that's something I'm definitely not.

_A/N:_ This is just a story I got stuck in my head and I had to write it out. Even so, I think it's one of my best stories. Please read & review, I'm already 2,000 words into writing the second chapter.

"Hey Tonks, are you my watchdog for today?" Harry had a ghost of a smile on his face as he addressed the friendly metamorph.

"Wotcher Harry," Tonks smiled. "Yup I'm the guard for the day." Tonks fell into step beside Harry as they walked down Privet Drive. "You know you wouldn't have to have me following you all the time if you would just stay home like you were supposed to."

Harry just laughed. "What if I enjoy your company? Besides I know why you're following me and I don't mind. It's nice to have some company around without the last name Dursley."

"You know a month ago Harry Potter would have thrown a fit about being forced to stay at home under armed guard," Tonks said in a quiet voice. "How are you holding up Harry?"

Harry lost most of his smile but a small ghost of it still remained. "I don't know Tonks, I really don't. You guys are always guarding me, why don't you tell me how I'm holding up as you see it." He said this without malice. The frustrated and angry teenager of a month ago was long gone. Death always has a way of changing people, some more than others. Since the death of Sirius and the revelation of the prophecy Harry James Potter had done the one thing no one expected. He had smiled and continued on with his life. No longer perpetually angry he had taken a more proactive approach with his life. He hadn't protested when he was forced to return to Privet Drive, now that he actually understood why he had to stay there. He hadn't protested when informed that members of the Order of the Phoenix would be guarding himself and #4 Privet Drive while he stayed there. When the leader of the order, Professor Albus Dumbledore, had suggested he stay inside as much possible Harry had politely refused. Simply stating that he had important things he needed to do during the summer and couldn't afford to cower in his bedroom. If the order wanted to guard him they would just have to follow along.

Tonks regarded him carefully, "I think your holding up better than most. Keeping yourself busy must be helping eh? Where are we headed today anyway?"

"A tattoo parlor I looked up in the phonebook," Harry replied. "I have something I mind that muggle tattoo parlor could do just as well as a magical one."

"YOU'RE getting a tattoo?" Tonks was astonished. "I hope its somewhere it won't be visible, unless you want it all over Teen Witch Weekly that is. And I'm sure Molly Weasley will just be thrilled if she sees it."

"Something tells me that you, Miss Tonks, might be one of those people who reads that magazine. As far as they go, they can snap pictures and write about how hot the Boy-Who-Lived is all they like. None of them getting anywhere near Harry Potter, except you of course, don't you feel privileged?" Harry had a joking smile on his face.

"Oh yes isn't just my lucky day to be stuck guarding a little pain in the ass like you," Tonks joked back. "You know as soon as you're done with this tattoo I think I'm going to send a message to Molly and tell her all about it."

Harry stuck his tongue out at her playfully then shrugged. "Go ahead and tell her, she'll probably find out anyway when I go to stay at the burrow again this year. I love Mrs. Weasley like family but she isn't my mother, that spot is taken." His smile faltered for just a second. It was back on his face so fast Tonks thought she might have imagined it. "Besides," He continued, "Once you see what I'm getting I'm sure you'll agree she won't mind."

An hour later Harry and Tonks exited Nu-U Tattoo. Tonks seemed to be taking pleasure in "accidently" poking him in his now sore shoulder. "Ouch. Hey will you stop that?" Harry whined.

"Ok fine you big baby." Tonks looked at Harry's new tattoo again as she walked him home. She didn't need to ask him why he had gotten this particular tattoo. She even agreed that Molly wouldn't be mad about it once she realized what it meant. On Harry's shoulder in large gothic letters were two dates:

October 31st, 1981

June 1st, 1996

His parents and Sirius, Tonks said to herself. Harry interrupted her from dark thoughts by putting his arm over her shoulder. "Come on Tonksie let's get something to eat, my treat." Harry used his arm around her to guide her to the nearby fast food restaurant.

"Well Harry you sure know how to treat a lady. A milkshake and french-fries, yum." Both Harry and Tonks were chatting quietly in a booth while they ate.

Harry was looking around the restaurant theatrically, "I didn't know I was in the presence of a lady." He laughed when Tonks threw a fry at him. "Sorry Tonksie I save the classy places for dates, and I don't think I'm on one at the moment."

"Are you sure Harry?" Tonks joked, "You've been awfully flirtatious today."

Harry laughed, "Sorry Tonks you're definitely attractive but I'm just not that into you. And if I stole you away I think Remus would kill me." Harry stuck out his tongue at her again. Tonks just slapped his arm playfully.

Later on they arrived back at #4 Privet Drive. Harry gave Tonks a goodbye hug and was about to go inside when she stopped him. "Oh Harry Dumbledore wanted me to ask you again if you would stay at home from now on. He says it isn't safe to be running around right now."

Harry sighed, "Tell Dumbledore the same thing I told him the last forty times he asked. I'm not going to put my life on hold to hide from an idiotic Dark Lord who has no idea, not even remotely, where I might live. Thanks for coming along today Tonks; I had a lot of fun."

Once inside Harry closed the door the casually and quietly took off his jacket. When he walked by his red faced uncle he said, "Go ahead, yell and scream when you know a group of wizards is watching the house." Vernon Dursley went from red faced to bloodlessly pale and scurried back into the living room with Harry's aunt and cousin. Since Harry had let slip at the beginning of summer that a group of fully trained wizards were just outside the Dursleys had ignored his existence. Once in a while Vernon would get moody but a quick reminder from Harry was all that was needed to put him back in line. Harry didn't think any of the Dursleys had gotten one good night's sleep all summer. They hadn't even asked him where he got the money for all the new clothes, books, and other items he had bought while staying with them this summer. Over the past two months packages for him had arrives almost every other day, both through the muggle mail during the day and by owl delivery at night. Hedwig was a happily busy owl constantly delivering order forms to numerous magical shops. She had even delivered a couple letters to the Daily Prophet.

After walking up his room Harry sat down at his desk to enjoy one of his new purchases, a laptop computer. It had taken some learning for him figure out how to use properly, it wasn't like he had ever gotten to use Dudley's computer so it was the first time he had really used one. Now however he was putting it to good use to order a large amount of things off the muggle internet. He was already rich and Sirius had left him the majority of the Black fortune with strict instructions to, "Waste every last Knut of their god damned money." "Who am I to refuse a dead man's last wishes?" Harry asked himself with a grin. He placed more orders for things he wanted before putting up the laptop and switching over to quill and parchment to write a letter to his favorite member of the Daily Prophet.

_Dear Bug Lady,_

_ Feel free to include the attached letter in next week's edition of your paper. You don't have to hide this one in the back pages like I requested with the others so feel free to put it on the front page if you want to. However, I'll include the same warning as I did with the others. Tamper with it or write it out of context and the ministry finds out about your buggy side. As long as you obey we can continue this mutually beneficial deal of ours._

_Sincerely,_

_The-boy-who-can-ruin-you_

Satisfied with his newest letter to the Daily Prophet Harry attached it to Hedwig's leg and sent the merry owl on her way.

The next week found Remus Lupin standing guard outside. He watched as yet another delivery man stopped by with, "A package for a Mr. Potter." 'Christ Harry, where the hell are you putting all this stuff?' Remus thought to himself. Five minutes after the delivery man left Harry exited the house and waved at Remus as he approached.

"Hey Remus," He greeted. "What you doing here today? Shouldn't you on a date with a pretty metamorph right now?" He smiled when he saw Remus blush slightly.

"No she had to go into work early today. They had a lead on one of the escaped Death Eaters." Since Cornelius Fudge could no longer deny Voldemort's continued existence he had actually begun to take minor steps to deal with the threat, like actively pursuing the Azkaban escapees. It a was really a pathetic attempt over all to deal with the problem of Lord Voldemort, But Harry would take whatever he could get. "Anyway," Said Remus, changing the subject. "Where are we going today?"

"How about we go see a movie then grab some Chinese food? I think there's a remake of the movie "The Wolfman" playing." They both laughed together at the irony.

"So Harry, Tonks told me you decided to get yourself a tattoo last week." They sat together eating at a small Chinese buffet.

Harry lifted the sleeve of the t-shirt he was wearing to show Remus the tattoo. "Just a little memorial to them," He gave Remus a small pained smile.

"They would all be proud of you Harry. Sirius was always going to go out with a bang; I don't think he would have it any other way." Remus gave him a small rueful smile.

Harry's pained smile slowly went away and was replaced with one of genuine happiness as he remembered the man who had been like a father. "I know Remus I just wish he could have waited another decade or two. But staying cooped up in Grimmauld Place sure wasn't being any help."

"Is that why you've been refusing to stay at Privet Drive during the day?" Remus asked curiously.

"It is one of the reasons. I think that Dumbledore would be a lot more forceful about making me stay if he wasn't treating me with kid gloves since Sirius died. But even if he was more forceful I still wouldn't stay. I'm not going to end up living like Sirius did; it's not really living at all." Harry ended his little speech with a faraway look in his eyes.

"You think you're going to die don't you?" Remus asked quietly. He wasn't sure he really wanted to hear the answer.

"Dumbledore told me something that night after Sirius died. I can't tell you what so don't ask. Voldemort has been after me years and he's only getting more persistent. Eventually it's going to come down to me or him again and I might not get away next time. If I end up meeting Sirius again soon I don't want to do it with any regrets."

Remus wasn't sure whether to be proud or worried by what he heard. Dumbledore had dropped something big on Harry right after Sirius' death? No wonder the man was being careful when handling him now. What was Albus thinking? That does explain why I found Albus repairing everything in his office that night. Remus decided it was better to change the subject for now. "Oh, Harry, before I forget, Albus wanted me to let you know we're coming to take you to the Burrow on Friday. The Weasley's are planning on moving everyone to Grimmauld place a couple days after that. Molly wanted you to have the chance to enjoy the good weather before everyone is stuck in Sirius' old house. After everyone moves to Grimmauld Place you'll all have stay inside the house. Dumbledore suspects Death Eaters are watching the area, trying to find the house."

"I'm not sure I want to go back to Sirius' place." Harry admitted. "But I guess it had to happen sometime right? I can't hide from the fact that he's gone." Harry shrugged sheepishly. Remus nodded and put a hand on his shoulder in sympathy.

Friday morning found the Weasley household in its topically bustling state. Though most of the children no longer lived at home they still stopped in every morning and enjoyed breakfast with their family, with the exception of Percy Weasley that is. The two remaining children who still lived at home were lounging in the nearby orchard with their friend Hermione Granger. All three were staying out of the house as much as possible this morning while the Weasley Matriarch prepared for their other friend, Harry Potter, to arrive.

"I wonder how Harry's doing. Sirius' death must have been extra hard on him." Hermione spoke to no one in particular.

Ginny replied, "Remus and Tonks both said He was taking it really well, surprisingly well actually. Apparently he's done a complete 180 from how he was before the Department of Mysteries.

"How did you get them to tell you anything?" Ron asked. "We tried but they wouldn't tell us anything."

"I think Tonks actually threatened to hex you if you didn't stop bugging her." Hermione added with a laugh.

Ginny smiled. "I blackmailed them into telling me how he was when I caught the two of them snogging last week." She burst out laughing at the expression on the faces of the other two.

"Remus and Tonks are together? No way," Ron said incredulously.

"Seriously," Replied a laughing Ginny. "They were trying to keep it a secret but I don't think they did a very good job. Tonks told me that Harry had figured it out too. I guess he saw Remus pick her up from guard duty a couple times and noticed some awfully suspicious red marks on Remus' neck." They all laughed together.

"So Harry really is ok?" Hermione asked seriously.

Ginny nodded, "From what they said it sounds like he's better than he has been in years."

"Isn't that a little strange?" Ron asked. "He just lost his godfather. I expected him to be a wreck."

It was Hermione who answered him. "Everyone reacts to the death of a loved one differently Ron. That kind of trauma can really change someone."

Molly Weasley's voice reached their ears. "Hermione, Ron, Ginny! Come back to the house. Harry should be here any minute."

Ron and Hermione both stood but Ginny waved them off. "You guys go ahead I'll be in in a minute." The both nodded and left to go greet their friend. Ginny stayed behind, wanting to enjoy the sunshine just a bit longer.

The arrival of a portkey dropped Harry James Potter and his trunk unceremoniously in the living room of the Burrow. He picked himself up off the floor and dusted off his clothes before smiling as Ron and Hermione both pulled him into separate hugs.

"Harry!" Hermione practically squealed as she hugged him. "How have you been? Oh is that a new trunk?" She asked as she spotted it behind him. She held him at arm's length to inspect him. Harry was dressed in some clearly expensive clothes, a black suit and dress shirt. The changed from Dudley's hand me downs was quite shocking. Hermione's voice betrayed her surprise, "And new clothes? Just what have you been up to Harry? You were supposed to stay home where you were safe!"

Harry just shrugged, "I had an order member with me every time I went out. But most of this stuff I just ordered and had delivered. The new trunk is just like the one Moody has, multiple compartments, one compartment is a small room. I'm only wearing the suit so I could make an entrance." Harry grinned, "Sirius gave me strict instructions on what to do with his money, so I'm following those instructions to the letter."

Mrs. Weasley came in at that moment and pulled him into a motherly hug before she too held out for inspection. "Wow look at you," She said. "The Dursleys must finally be treating you right." Harry chose not to comment and moved into the kitchen where Molly had been busy preparing everything for Harry's birthday party that night. His birthday had already gone by but instead of everyone sending presents to him they had decided to wait and give him a late party.

"Ron, where's Ginny? I need her to help me prepare some more food for the party tonight."

"She's still out in the orchard I think. She wanted to spend a little more time out there."

"That girl's had her head in the clouds all summer," Molly huffed. "I'll have to go get her. she's probably asleep under a tree again."

"You look awfully busy Mrs. Weasley, why don't I go get her. Ron and Hermione can help till she comes back." He grinned at the looks his two friends shot him.

"Oh thank you dear, please hurry back with her." Harry left as Molly quickly roped the others into helping her cook.

It was only a short walk to reach the old orchard near the Burrow. Harry was walking through it when he caught the faint sound of a voice off in the distance. He followed the sounds and as he got closer Harry realized it was the sound of a woman singing. The melodic voice rose and fell in tune with a folksong he didn't recognize. He followed the voice as it grew louder and spotted Ginny Weasley when he reached the far side of the orchard. She had her back to him and was leaned against one of the trees. He didn't think she heard him approach as she sang. He stopped behind her and listened quietly as she sang till the close of the song. "Didn't know you could sing," Harry swore she must as jumped five feet in the air at the sound of his voice. She spun around with her wand at the ready but lowered it when she realized who was there.

"Jesus Harry, Don't scare me like that." She panted with a hand on her chest. Harry just laughed and pulled her into a hug.

"Sorry Ginny I didn't mean to scare you. I was listening to you sing, how come I've never heard you sing before? You're pretty good at it you know."

Ginny blushed at his praise. "Thank you Harry, but I'm not that good."

"Yes you are. You should sing more often."

"What's make you think I don't sing very often? Huh Mr. Potter? It's not you and I spend a lot of time together you know." She huffed in annoyance before grinning. "Some of us have secrets that don't involve prophecies and Dark Lords," She joked.

"Touché Miss Weasley, But if I had known you sang like that before I would have spent more time around you. All I knew about was you're ability to write bad poetry and a habit of sticking your elbow in butter dishes." He teased, "Butter must be good for the skin."

Ginny responded with a playful slap on the arm. "Why are you out here Harry? Besides the chance to make fun of me, that is."

"Your mother needs help in the kitchen. I offered to come get you."

"Oh, we better not keep her waiting then. My mother can be a real slave driver in the kitchen." The two walked back to the Burrow in a companionable silence. Harry was lost thought about the young woman walking beside him. He felt badly taking such a long time to get to know her. Ginny had always been around since her first year. She was friends with Hermione and Ron's sister but he had virtually ignored her until she joined the D.A last year. He vowed to change that, after all it's good to get to know new people.

Once they were back inside Ginny was quickly put to work helping her mother. Molly sent Harry off stating, "You shouldn't be helping prepare your own birthday party." Harry decided to go up to his room and read. Since all but the two youngest Weasley children had now moved out everyone who stayed at the Burrow was able to have their own room. Harry had Percy's old room. He had just settled into a book on competition dueling when there was a knock on the door and Ginny poked her head in. "Hey Harry, the Headmaster is here asking to see you. He's in the living room."

"Okay thanks Ginny. I thought he'd be here today." Harry followed back down the stairs and met Dumbledore in the living room while Ginny went back to cooking. "Hello Headmaster, you wanted to see me?"

Albus Dumbledore smiled benignly, "Ah Harry there you are. It's good to see you're well. I just thought I might stop but and ask about this curious article that was taking up the front." Dumbledore handed Harry a copy of the Daily Prophet and he grinned as he read the headline:

_Boy-Who-Lived Calls for Lift on the Restriction of Underage Magic_

_Harry Potter, The Boy-Who-Lived is calling for the Ministry of Magic to lift the restriction on the use of underage magic. Mr. Potter sites the recent Death Eater attacks as, "Clear cause to left the restriction. If children are allowed to perform magic outside of school then they will be better protected should they find themselves in the midst of an attack._

_Continued pg. 8_

_Ministry response pg. 9_

_More on the Restriction pg.10_

"Did you actually write a letter to the Prophet Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry nodded, "Actually I've written several before, but I requested those be put on the back pages. Most people just read the articles with the catchy headlines."

"Harry I don't disagree with the points you made in this article, but I must ask you not to send anymore letters to the paper." Dumbledore chastised, "Leave the politics and fighting to us."

Harry gave Dumbledore a confused look, "Headmaster we both know why I can't do that. I'm a part of this war whether anyone else likes it or not. We both know exactly why Voldemort keeps coming after me, and why he will keep coming after me. If you want to keep out of fighting with the order then that's fine, I know I'm not trained well enough to be of any help to them. I do, however, still have the right to place an article in the Daily Prophet if I feel like it. Even if I can't fight I need to be involved somehow."

Dumbledore gave a weary sigh. "Harry you need to stay out of this war as much as possible. You have your whole life ahead of you; let us worry about Voldemort for right now."

Harry was starting to get annoyed. "I'm sorry Headmaster but the answer is no. I appreciate that you care but I will not allow myself to end up imprisoned like Sirius was after his escape. I live a life that someone tries to cut short every single day, eventually they might manage it."

"I'm very sorry you feel that way Harry, but perhaps you're right. It is better to live a short life happily then a long life miserably. Still, I can't help feeling sad for those like yourself who have to make the distinction." Harry felt slightly bad for getting mad at the headmaster. Even if he was being overly controlling he old man was only trying to help. He hated having to argue with someone who had always been kind to him but Harry still felt he was making the right choices.

The Headmaster was quick to leave after their short discussion and it reminded Harry eerily of the previous school year. 'He's trying to shut me out of everything again,' Harry thought to himself. 'If he keeps making decisions like this it's going to cost someone else their life.' Harry shook his head in resignation. Why was the only one who seemed willing to say no to the headmaster?

Hours later the Burrow was full of people who arrived for Harry's birthday party. Every member of the order was attending, though from the way they kept glancing about Harry guessed that they weren't just there to celebrate. Everyone sang happy birthday together for Harry while the twins tried to find the most ridiculous tone in which they could sing it. Everyone had eaten supper together and enjoy a large piece of Molly's delicious cake. Harry got a large stack of presents from all his friends including a box of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes from the twins, a journal the marauders had kept from Remus, sweets from Molly and Arthur, and a planner from Hermione. Tonks had given him a copy of the Auror Training Manual, and Ron and Ginny had gone in together and bought him a high quality broom servicing kit. Harry had made sure to thank all the others that showed up and brought him gifts. Toward the end of the party most of the lesser known people in the order had left early, having really only been there for security in the first place. Soon it was just Harry, The Weasley's, and a few other close friends like Remus and Hagrid. It was a pleasant night and Harry was chatting with his friends quietly. He noticed Ginny seemed to be starring off into space when an idea popped into his head, "Hey Ginny, do you think you could sing us something?"

All the Weasley's seemed to freeze up as soon he asked the question and he looked at them all curiously, not understanding what he had done wrong. "Are you sure you want me to Harry?" Ginny stammered. The all gave her a surprised glance, which Harry still didn't understand.

"If you're ok with it Ginny, you don't have to if you don't want to." Harry replied, wary of the sudden change in mood.

Ginny took a deep breath, "No it's ok Harry. It's your birthday after all and the birthday boy gets his wish." Her joke didn't really succeed in lightening the mood. She stood up and faced away from everyone, staring up at the star filled sky. Harry almost thought she had changed her mind when he heard her begin, a low tone that gently rose and fell as she sang. He didn't recognize the language though he suspected it was Gaelic. None the less Harry thought it was beautiful, you didn't have to understand the words to enjoy the song. The song was low and gentle, never rising very high. Harry that Arthur and Molly both had tears in their eyes, why he wasn't sure.

When the song drew to an end everyone was silent for a few minutes. Finally Mrs. Weasley snapped out of her daze and shooed all the children off to bed while the adult excused themselves to go home for the night. Arthur quietly got his attention and pulled him into the living room while the others went upstairs to bed. "Harry, I just wanted to say thank you, for whatever it is that you did." Arthur began.

"I'm not sure I understand Mr. Weasley." Harry was only getting more confused.

Arthur smiled in response. "No I suppose you wouldn't. I guess I owe you an explanation for our behavior tonight. You see, Ginny used to sing like that all the time when she was a little girl. Even then she had a beautiful voice. It was her aunt who taught her a few Gaelic folksongs before she passed away. But now I'm getting off track aren't, the point is that she sang like that all the time, until her first year at Hogwarts." Arthur paused as an anguished look passed over his face. "After everything that happened with diary, she just stopped singing all of a sudden. She wouldn't tell us why, but she refused to. Until today I was sure she hadn't sung since then. But must have at some point or you wouldn't know how good she is. So I'll just say thank you Harry, for helping my daughter once again, even if you didn't do it intentionally. Now off to bed Harry it's getting late."

Harry just nodded dumbly, not sure what to say. He hadn't realized that the events involving the Chamber of Secrets had affected her so strongly. Though in hindsight, he supposed it was stupid to assume someone could go something like that and come out completely unscathed. He was lost in his thoughts as he walked up to his room, but as soon his head touched the pillow all thoughts ceased. Thoughts could wait till morning.

However, as so often happens in the life of Harry Potter things got in the way. An explosion rocked the house in the early, jarring is inhabitants awake. Harry awoke and swung himself of the bed, running to the window to see what the cause was. Looking out he could see dozens of spells flying out of the orchard, the wards around the Burrow flared brightly visible as the spells impacted. "Everyone downstairs now we're under attack!" Arthur's voice rang out. Harry grabbed his wand and shrunk his trunk, restriction or no it was too valuable to leave behind. Everyone hurried down the stairs gathered in the living room. Then the largest explosion yet shook the house. "Damn the wards are down," Arthur swore. "Come one everyone through the floo now!" Even with everyone rushing to leave it was taking way too long, only one person could use the floo at a time. Harry peaked out of the living room towards the front door. He could see spells flying back and forth across the yard as several members of the Order tried to fight off the Death Eaters. Suddenly Harry saw several of the Death Eaters break off from their fight and rush toward the door to the Burrow. Thinking quickly Harry crouched and sent a powerful banishing hex towards the bottom of the door. Three Death Eaters reached the door just as the unseen banishing hex sent the door flying out into the yard. Being directly in front of it the Death Eaters found themselves along for the ride as they were hurled across the yard where they landed on the other side in a crumpled heap. "Come on Harry it time to go!" Arthur yelled. Harry turned to him and realized that they were the only two still in the house. He turned toward Mr. Weasley but froze when the point of a want pressed into his neck.

"Forgot to keep an eye on the windows kid," said the snide voice of the Death Eater behind him. Harry locked eyes with Arthur briefly before making up his mind. He dove to the side suddenly and waved his wand, in any other situation the look on Arthur Weasley's face would have been comical as a banishing hex sent him flying into the green flames of the fireplace. However, Harry didn't have time to celebrate. Another banishing caught him in midair a send him flying into the wall beside the fireplace. He screamed out on impact as he felt several of his ribs crack under the strain. He slumped to the floor and rolled on his back before bring a hand to his face, his nose wasn't in the correct position anymore either. He forced himself through the pain and looked up at the Death Eater standing above him. "Consider that returning the favor, my sister was one of the three you caught with that little trick of yours."

This must be one the Carrow twins Harry thought. There weren't many family pairs in the Death Eaters and he knew the Lestrange brothers were both taller. The Carrow in question kept his wand trained on Harry as he stood over him. "You just stay right there kid," He said. He turned his head towards the door to call for the other Death Eaters; he really should have kept his eyes on Harry.

Harry saw his chance as soon Carrow looked away and brought his food up as hard as he could right between the man's legs. Carrow immediately crumpled to the floor, clutching himself in pain. Another strong kick connected with Carrow's face and returned the favor of breaking the man's nose. Rolling away quickly Harry snatched his wan up from the floor and dove into the fireplace, hoping the Order hadn't already sealed off the other end.

The entire Order of the Phoenix was in the kitchen of #12 Grimmauld Place, along with the entire Weasley family, when the Boy-Who-Lived tumbled out of the fireplace. He looked up from his position in the floor to see every single wand in the room trained on him. When people realized who it was he saw several people's faces grow pale at the state he was in. He locked on the pale faces of his friends and cracked a painful smile, "You should see the other guy." Then Harry promptly passed out on the kitchen floor on Grimmauld Place.

_A/N:_ I hope you enjoyed it so far. This story will have a Harry/Ginny pairing but I'm trying to build it up slowly. So the pairing won't actually happen for several more chapters. Dumbledore's not manipulative or dark in this story, he's just old and more than a little senile. He's still the wise and well intentioned old man. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

_**Changes**_

_**Chapter 2: Moving on isn't the same as getting over.**_

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own anything. Woe is me.

_A/N:_ Another chapter for everyone to enjoy in celebration of me finishing my college course on designing advanced computer graphics. This chapter is a little a shorter than the last but I actually rewrote it three times before I was happy with it. I could really use a beta reader; if anyone's interested just send me a message. Enjoy

Harry awoke in Grimmauld place the next day just as the sun was beginning to rise. He immediately wished he hadn't woken at all. His face and chest hurt like hell, though everything seemed to be back where it was supposed to be. He reached up to touch his face but decided that was a bad idea when his sides flared in pain.

"Ah Harry it's good to see you awake so soon." Harry looked over and spotted Dumbledore sitting in the chair beside his bed. The old man was looking exceptionally worn out and Harry realized he had probably been up all night dealing with the aftermath of the Death Eater attack. "How are you feeling?" The Headmaster asked.

"Like I wish I was still asleep." Harry replied with a grimace. "How is everyone else?"

"Everyone is fine Harry, Kingsley Shacklebolt was injured quite badly but he should back on his feet in a few days. Other than minor cuts and bruises everyone else was completely unharmed. Well unless you count Arthur Weasley's concussion, but I'm told that wasn't Death Eater inflicted." Dumbledore said the last part with an amused look on his face.

Harry smiled sheepishly, "I did the first thing that came to mind, He has a family that needs him."

"Yes Arthur told me what happened. He also told the Aurors when they arrived at the Burrow last night. You will be happy to hear that last night at the same time as your party the ministry passed a bill to temporarily repeal the restriction on the underage use of magic, which means that the ministry cannot try to charge you with anything like they did last year. Actually I heard a rumor of a possible award for your actions."

Harry snorted in disgust, "If they try to award me a medal it will only be because they want to make themselves look good."

"Perhaps," Dumbledore agreed. "None the less you might get it. Now you'll have to excuse me Harry but it's been a trying night and I could do with a bit of rest. I'll talk to you again before the next Order meeting." Dumbledore stood to leave but Harry stopped him as he reached the door.

"Headmaster," Harry said quietly, "They attacked the Weasley's because I was there didn't they?"

The Headmaster sighed. "I really don't know the answer to that question Harry. The Weasley family has always been a target and will always be a target."

After Dumbledore left Harry lay in bed for several long minutes, thinking about everything that had happened. Then his ears picked out the quiet sound of movement in the far corner of the room. At first he thought he was imagining things but then he heard it again. Harry let a small grin slide onto his face, "You can come out now. I know you're there." The person in the corner dropped their invisibility charm and Harry saw that it was Ginny. "Ginny? What are you doing in here?" Harry had expected it to be Ron or Hermione hiding in the corner. He tried to push himself up into a sitting position but grimaced in pain.

Ginny rushed over and helped him sit up. "We were all worried about you last night but mom sent us all to bed. I didn't think I'd be the only one to sneak back in. I've been in that corner for a good twenty minutes hiding from Dumbledore!" She said exasperatedly.

Harry chuckled weakly, "You know Dumbledore can see through invisibility charms right? He saw me under my invisibility cloak more than once."

"How did you not get in trouble? If I got caught I'd have a month's detention and a howler from mum." Ginny huffed.

"Honestly I think he avoids punishing students as much as he can. That way all the students like him more because he's the fun authority figure. The teachers are the ones that get the bad reputation for punishing people."

"How very Slytherin of him," Ginny replied. She sat down on the edge of the bed, "How are you feeling Harry?"

"Not that bad really, as long as I don't move around too much it's just a dull ache."

"Good then this won't be too hard on you." Ginny promptly punched him in the arm.

Harry winced as he felt his arm go slightly numb. "Hey, what was that for?" He asked.

"That was for being the stupid hero and trying to take on a Death Eater one on one." Ginny then leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. She sniggered as Harry turn bright red.

"Uh, what was THAT for?"

"That was for saving my dad's life."

Harry grinned. "Well if that's what I get for saving people I'm going to start doing it more often. IT's almost worth the punch in the arm," He teased. It was Ginny's turn to blush bright red.

"Oh shut up," She muttered. "Since you're ok I'm going to go help mum prepare breakfast, she usually starts about now. I'll bring yours up to you in a bit." Ginny made a quick exit from the room before Harry could try to tease her anymore.

It took Harry several days to recover completely, though knowing Madam Pomfrey it was probably a day longer than he really needed. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all spent as much time as possible with him while he was bedridden. However, Harry noticed that the last on that list always seemed to find herself spending considerably more time with him than the other two. He didn't know if it was on purpose or not, but he did know that both Ron and Hermione always had an excuse to find time alone with each other. It was pretty easy for Harry to guess what was going on between the two but he had no idea why they were hiding it. When he finally found a moment where he and Ron were alone together he decided to ask him about it.

"So you and Hermione are together now right?" Harry asked out of nowhere.

"What makes you think that?" Ron stammered out.

"I'm not stupid Ron; everyone can tell when you two are trying to sneak off together. I'm just wondering why you two are trying so hard to keep it a secret. You're not ashamed to be with her are you?"

"What?" Ron asked indignantly. "Of course I'm not. She's the one who wanted to keep it a secret, not me. She was worried about how you would feel."

"Well I'll talk to her about that later then. I'm happy for both of you. But Ron, she's like a sister to me, if you hurt her I'm taking it out of your hide alright?"

Ron nodded seriously, "I understand mate, it won't happen."

The following day Madam Pomfrey finally declared that Harry was well enough to leave. One extremely hurried hour later Harry, Hermione, and all the Weasley's found themselves in Diagon Alley.

Diagon Alley was as crowded as ever, especially with the start of term fast approaching. Parents and children ran back and forth in all directions finishing last minute shopping. Harry and company were being escorted by, both the Weasley parents, as well as Remus and Tonks.

"Harry, are sure you don't want a glamour charm? If someone sees you the whole alley will be in chaos."

Harry laughed and waved his arm at the frantic shoppers passing by their group. "Looks like this place is already in chaos, besides if I wear a glamour anyone looking for me is still going to notice the strange guy following the Weasleys around. Either way I stick out like a sore thumb." Remus acknowledged he had a point.

The group made its yearly rounds, stopping at Flourish and Blotts to purchase everyone's books, Madam Malkin's for new robes, and the Apothecary to refill potions supplies. As they were sitting at Florean Fortesque's Hermione asked Harry a question that had been eating away at her all day. "Harry just how much money have you been spending lately? You haven't bought anything since which we got here, which means you already must have bought everything you need. Combine that with all the new things you brought to Grimmauld Place with you and it must have been a small fortune."

"I have spent a small fortune, and I'll spend a large fortune before I stop. All the money I'm spending was left to me by Sirius. He requested in his will that I waste as much of it as I could manage. You know how the black family was and how they earned most of their money. Sirius wanted all that money gone."

"But Harry, you can't just go around spending that kind of money!"

"I can and I am. Besides none of the money I spend is going to waste."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked?

Harry just smiled, "You will see."

"You're being evasive," Hermione huffed.

"Am I?" Harry asked with a smile. Harry continued avoiding questions about money as the group chatted for a few minutes. Harry thought the day had gone rather well so far, unfortunately it was ruined when a shadow appeared behind him.

"Well if it isn't Potter, the mudblood, and the blood traitors," Came the unmistakable drawl of Draco Malfoy. "I thought you would all be in hiding now. Wasn't there an attack on the Weasley's pathetic excuse for a home? About time that thing was demolished."

Ron was red faced but Harry spoke first. "Draco Malfoy," Harry spoke calmly and didn't even bother to turn around so he could see the blonde Slytherin. "What a surprise, I mean, it's not like you do this every single year."

The sarcasm in Harry's voice caught Draco of guard. "What are you talking about Potter?"

"I'm talking about how sad it is that the heir of the great Malfoy family is completely unable to think for himself. Honestly is there one thing you do without daddy's permission?"

"My father is a great man!" Malfoy spat. Harry didn't have to turn around to know he had hit a nerve.

"Your father is an arrogant, cruel, and ignorant man. He follows a maniac and released a dark artifact in a school full of children." Harry noticed Ginny shudder slightly at the mention of the diary. "What will you do, Draco, when you father is finally held accountable for his actions? If you think this is going to end with your precious Dark Lord's victory you are sadly mistaken."

"No one can defeat the Dark Lord! You'll end up dead just like you're parents Potter."

Harry sighed, "You're just not getting it are you Draco? Oh well I'm tired of this conversation. Run along back to father." Draco stood there for a moment but left after it became clear that the group was no longer paying any attention to him.

"That was very well handled Harry," Said Remus as he and Tonks returned with ice cream for the group.

Harry shrugged, "I'm sure Draco will be telling daddy dearest all about it as soon as possible." The group shared a laugh at Draco's expense.

Everyone spent the next few minutes chatting while they ate. Most of them had finished by the time Harry remembered something. "Hey guys do you mind waiting here for a couple minutes? I just remembered something I need to go pick up."

"Harry you shouldn't be wandering around by yourself," Hermione chastised. "Let one of us come with you."

"Sorry Hermione but I can't. This pickup is supposed be a secret." Harry wandered off into the crowds, leaving his friends by themselves.

"What do you think he's getting?" Ron asked after Harry had left.

"Maybe it's a gift for someone." Ginny replied.

"We should follow him anyway. What if Malfoy finds him and tries something?"

Hermione interrupted him, "Ron even Malfoy isn't stupid enough to start a fight in the middle of Diagon Alley."

"Of course he would. Malfoy would do anything for his father or You-Know-Who. He's probably a death eater already. "

"Really Ron why on earth would You-Know-Who even want him as a death eater? I doubt he's that interested in recruiting school boys."

Ginny interrupted the couple's bickering, "Why not? If Voldemort wanted something done in Hogwarts then who would be better? No one expects a kid to be a death eater." They all fell silent after that. None of them wanting to imagine what Voldemort had planned for Hogwarts and its students.

Harry returned several minutes without a package and noticed the strange looks from his friends. "What did you think I was going to walk around with Ginny's birthday present right in front of her? It's being delivered to the Burrow." The group collected all their purchases and walked back to the Leaky Cauldron. Everyone laughed as Ginny kept trying to get Harry to tell her what her present was. "You'll just have to wait and see." Was all Harry would say.

The next week passed in a blur of cleaning for everyone at Grimmauld Place. Molly Weasley was still determined to see the place spotless. However the biggest problem at #12 Grimmauld place was not the filthy rooms but a certain portrait of a previous inhabitant who was determined to make everyone miserable. After a week of, "FILTHY MUDBLOODS AND BLOOD TRAITORS" Harry finally had enough.

Molly and Arthur Weasley were sitting at the kitchen table when Harry walked in and grabbed a pitcher full of water. "Harry where are you going with that?" Molly asked?

"I'm getting rid of that stupid portrait."

"Oh Harry please don't disturb it," Arthur implored. "We only just got her to stop screaming. We've been trying to remove her portrait for months and nothings worked. I don't think a pitcher of water is going to do anything."

"Oh the water's not for removing her. It's to stop anything else from being too badly damaged." Harry walked out of the room without another world. Curiosity got the better of them and Molly and Arthur followed Harry out into the hallway where the portrait hung behind its curtain. The screaming started as soon as Harry drew back the curtain. "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE YOU FILTHY….."

"BE SILENT."

The portrait paused in its rant to look at Harry in surprise. "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME YOU LITTLE.."

"I SAID BE SILENT." By now the shouting had attracted the attention of the houses other inhabitants and they could be heard rushing down the stairs. Harry however paid them no mind, instead he reached into his pocket and removed a small item which he held up in front of the portrait. The woman's portrait looked ready to begin shouting again but it was halted by the click of the muggle lighter in Harry's hand.

The eyes of the portrait grew large at the site of the flame so close to the canvas. Harry kept the flame close to the portrait as he spoke again, "Your portrait is protected against magic, and against magical fire. But what's the chance a muggle hating woman like you believed your portrait would need protection from non magicals?" Harry moved the lighter down and closer to the edge of the canvas.

"KREACHER!" The portrait of Mrs. Black screamed as the edge of the canvas began to blacken.

The house elf in question arrived with a pop. "What are you doing to mistress' portrait?!"

Kreacher was about to snap his fingers but Harry beat him to it. "Kreacher STOP!" The elf stopped moving but began to shake as he tried to resist the order. "I am your master Kreacher, not this portrait, and you will obey me. You will not harm anyone in this house. You will not have contact with anyone who is outside of this house. You will clean this house as is your job, and lastly, unless I call you, you are to remain out of sight at all times. Do I make myself clear?" The elf continued to tremble for a moment before he slumped in defeat and nodded his head slightly. "Good, now get out of my sight." The elf disappeared with another pop.

"NO KREACHER! COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!" The portrait screamed in panic. Harry had kept the lighter against the canvas and a small area had begun to burn away.

"Mrs. Black," As Harry spoke his voice remained calm, but cold. "I will give you one chance. From now on you will not speak unless spoken to. If you shout again I will burn this portrait to ashes, do you understand?" The portrait nodded fearfully. "Good." Harry lifted the pitcher of water and poured it over the painting, smothering the fire. Then he pulled the curtain shut over the painting and handed the pitcher to Mrs. Weasley.

"Bloody Hell Harry," Ron was the only one to say anything. Harry gave a small shrug and pushed through the crowd of people before disappearing up the stairs.

It was an hour before anyone found him again, hiding in Sirius' old room.

Harry looked up when the door creaked open slightly and saw someone slip into the room. The room itself was dark but he still recognized the profile of the small redhead witch. "Hey," it was all he could think to say.

"Hey," Ginny replied. This wasn't the same Harry she had seen his arrival at the Burrow. His shoulders slumped and his head was bowed, Harry Potter looked utterly defeated.

"Where are the others?" He asked as Ginny sat next to him on the bed.

"Outside, they thought you needed time alone."

"And you didn't?" He asked.

"I don't think you should leave someone to grieve on their own," Ginny replied.

Harry grabbed his wand a threw a silencing spell at the door, "I don't really want to talk to them right now.

"Then talk to me." Harry looked at her but his expression was unreadable in the dim light.

They sat in silence for a moment before Harry let out a small laugh, "You know I promised myself I wasn't going to do this anymore. I promised myself I would live my life like Sirius wanted."

"It's ok to grieve Harry."

"Yeah what do you know about it?" His voice was harsh but then she saw his expression soften. "I'm sorry Ginny I didn't mean that."

"It's ok Harry, you're right. I didn't know him very well. I only really got to know him over last Christmas, but I miss him. He was always kind to me, even when I expected the worse from the notorious murderer Sirius Black."

Harry smiled a little, "I didn't know you had talked to him much."

"Only a few times. Mostly late nights after dad's attack, when I couldn't sleep. Mum never wanted us spending too much time with him, I think she was afraid he would corrupt us."

Harry laughed a little at that. "As if Fred and George haven't corrupted you enough," He teased.

"I have no idea what you're talking." Ginny's innocent look failed miserably and they both ended up laughing together.

"Thank you Ginny. I needed that."

Ginny smiled, "Anytime Harry." She got up to give him some time alone but he grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Please stay." Ginny sat down again but a blush crept onto her face when Harry held her hand far longer than needed. "I've been meaning to talk you anyway."

"About what?" Ginny asked.

"Well, a lot of things." Harry paused for a moment, "I don't know you as well as I'd like to. But right now I need to ask you about something, and I hope you don't mind talking about it with me. You're the only other person who dealt with it."

Ginny's heart filled with dread, she knew what he wanted to talk about. "It's about the diary isn't it?" That was the last thing she ever wanted to talk about.

Harry could hear the dread in her voice and took her hand again, it was all he could think to do. "Please Ginny I need your help with this. I've bought a hundred books on enchanting and I haven't found any enchantments that can make an object act like the diary did. The only other enchanted object I know of with that level of intelligence is the sorting hat."

"Why don't you just ask Dumbledore? He must know what the diary was."

Harry laughed dryly, "Dumbledore is still telling me as little as possible. If I press him for answers he's going to stop telling me anything at all."

"I don't think I can do this Harry," Ginny's voice faltered. "You talked to the diary, Riddle showed you memories, but you don't know what it was like to be possessed by that thing. No one knows what that's like."

"Yes I do Ginny. Voldemort tried to possess me in the ministry."

Ginny looked at him in shock. "What? Why haven't you told anyone?"

"Dumbledore knows, he was there when it happened. He might have told the order but I don't know." He looked away from Ginny. "I couldn't tell anyone about it. They wouldn't have understood what it was like."

Harry was surprised when Ginny hugged him, it caught him off guard, and he enjoyed it more than he wanted to admit to himself. They were the only two people that a chance of understanding what the other had been through. "What was it like?" She asked without releasing him from the hug.

"Hell," Harry replied. "The worst pain you can imagine. I had no control over my own body, and the harder I fought it the more it hurt."

"The diary wasn't like that until the end. It was subtle at first, I didn't even know it was taking control until it already had. But it hurt when I began to fight it. The more I fought the more it hurt."

Harry pulled her a little tighter into the hug. "I'm sorry Ginny."

She laughed at that. "Don't be, you saved me after all."

"Yeah but I didn't even check on you after we got out of the chamber. And I've felt bad about that ever since."

Ginny just shushed him. "Harry we were both worn out and you had more on your mind then just me, who you hardly knew at the time."

"Well I still hardly know you don't I? But we're going to fix that." Both smiled at each other, but that smile turned into a blush when they realized they were still holding each other. They broke apart with red faces and Harry stood nervously. "Well, uh, I'm going to go do some more research on the, uh, diary. Care to join me?" Ginny nodded and both of them headed back to his room to go over enchanting books. Ron and Hermione weren't waiting for them when they left Sirius' old room but Ron found them both in Harry's room a few minutes later.

"There you are Ginny. I've been looking for you everywhere." Harry noticed Ron seemed a little off.

"What's up Ron?" Ginny asked.

"Not sure. Mum sent me to find you, said she needed your help with something."

"Ok I'll go see what she wanted." As soon as Ginny was out of the room Ron shut the door and turned to Harry with a tense look on his face.

"What are you doing with my sister Harry?"

"We were just looking through a few books on enchanting."

"Don't play dumb with me Harry. You two were alone in Sirius' room for a long time."

"We were talking about what happened at the ministry Ron. What did you think? I had a breakdown that ended with me snogging your sister?" Harry actually laughed at the idea.

Ron thought about it for a second before he seemed to deflate. "Sorry Harry, it's just, she's my little sister, and I'm pretty sure she still has that crush on you."

Harry decided it definitely wasn't a good idea to mention the hug earlier. "Come on Ron what kind of guy do you think I am? Besides, you know I don't have a clue about women. Just look at that disaster with Cho last year."

Ron laughed, "Yeah I guess you're right. Sorry Harry."

"Now Ron you should probably go hide before Ginny finds out what you were up to"

"RONALD WEASLEY" Harry's grin turn evil when Ginny's shout. Ron paled considerably, and was out the door faster than Harry thought possible. Harry peaked out into the hallway just in time to see an angry Ginny Weasley marching up the stairs, wand in hand.

"Hermione tell you what he was up to?" Harry guessed.

"Yes she did now where did he go?"

"No idea. Try the attic" Harry laughed as Ginny marched off in search of her brother. Shutting his door Harry walked back to his bed and picked up his book again. He smiled to himself as the sound of bickering siblings rang throughout Grimmauld Place.

_A/N:_ Hope you enjoyed. I decided to try building into the pairing a bit more. The next chapter will be focused back on the action and include far too much Snape.


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